Former President Donald Trump’s classified documents trial is set to take place in May, after his spokesman called it a ‘huge setback’ and his legal team requested it be delayed until after the 2024 presidential election.
Trump-appointed Judge Eileen Cannon will begin jury selection on May 14, with a two-week trial beginning May 20.
Prosecutors had wanted the trial to take place in December, but Cannon indicated on Tuesday that he thought the timeline was too ‘tight’ for a trial involving classified materials.
By May, Trump — who is far ahead of other 2024 GOP contenders in early primaries — could be the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told Newstimesuk.com, ‘Crooked Joe Biden is losing and trying to use his weaponized DOJ against his top political rival – a disgraceful and un-American abuse of power. ‘Crooked Joe will fail and President Trump will return to the White House for the American people.’
Former President Donald Trump’s classified documents trial will be held in May, in a blow to the former president who wanted to delay it until after the 2024 presidential election.
Putting a former president and presidential candidate on trial would be unprecedented.
Trump also said this week that he expects to be indicted again by special counsel Jack Smith on charges related to the 2020 election and Jan. 6.
Last month, Trump appeared in federal court in Miami and pleaded not guilty to 37 counts related to his misuse of classified material, including willfully withholding national defense information and making false statements.
Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon set a Friday date for the former president’s classified documents case. The trial will begin in May
The case, which Smith is handling, began after Trump refused to return classified documents taken from the White House at his Florida home and private club, Mar-a-Lago.
In an interview last month with Fox’s Brett Baier, Trump said he was “very busy,” so he didn’t return the documents.
‘I have to get all my stuff out before I send the box. These boxes were littered with all kinds of things – golf shirts, dresses, pants, shoes – there was a lot,’ the former president explained.
Trump also claimed that everything he had was revealed.
The case potentially hinges on Trump’s admission, captured on tape, that he knew the information he had was classified and that he never disclosed it.
In late June, CNN obtained an audio clip, the indictment states, in which the former president can be heard showing people a document he says is ‘top secret’ and contains ‘classified information’ about Iran.
In the audio recording, Trump can be heard saying that Pentagon and military officials ‘presented it to me — it’s off the record — but they presented it to me.’
A photo of the box of White House documents being stored in a bathroom at Mar-a-Lago that was part of Trump’s federal indictment
The former president was trying to push back on a New Yorker story that said Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley and other military officials feared Trump would start a war with Iran to hold on to power after losing the 2020 election.
A week before the story broke the audio recording reportedly took place at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey on July 21, 2021.
‘It totally wins my case, you know? Except it’s highly confidential. Secret is secret information,’ Trump is heard saying in the leaked clip.
A woman on the recording then remarked, ‘Hillary will always print this,’ referring to the classified document.
‘He’s going to send it to Anthony Weiner, the pervert,’ Trump replied.
The indictment lists the participants in the meeting as Trump, two of his aides, a writer and a publisher who were working on a memoir for former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
The rustling of papers can be heard multiple times during the two-minute clip.
‘By the way, isn’t that incredible?’ Trump also said. ‘These are papers. It was done by the military and given to me.’
‘Look, as president I could have released this. Now I can’t, you know,’ she added, noting how it was ‘interesting’ and ‘cool’.
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